


Cherry Cola

by Soft_hours (orphan_account)



Series: Cherry Cola series [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, gai and kakashi are the best dads, i'll add more later
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-18
Updated: 2018-11-06
Packaged: 2019-06-12 10:17:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 17,974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15337752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/Soft_hours
Summary: due to his father falling ill, Gaara and his two siblings move to Konoha for a fresh start. Gaara starts school at Konoha high, hoping it won't destroy him. He meets Lee, an athletic boy who will never let anything hurt Gaara ever.





	1. Flower shop

**Author's Note:**

> If you catch any mistakes that I didn't please tell me.

Gaara shrunk back into his oversized pullover as a gust of wind hit his face. Fuck Konoha. Everybody was running around in shorts and a t-shirt while he freezes. Suna was never this cold.  
Suna, his old town wasn't too far from this one, but it was drastically different. Konoha was much colder than Suna ever was. Konoha was much smaller than Suna, but what it lacked in size, it made up for in friendly faces. Gaara wasn't used to this kind of environment. In Suna, you didn't need to own a pair of pants, and nobody smiled at you on the streets. Suna was just all around sand and sour faces. Gaara didn't even really want to move, but Konoha was cheap and had job opportunities.  
Gaara and his two siblings had decided to move to Konoha after their father fell ill and died. He now lives on the 3rd floor of an apartment building in the middle of a small town. His room was empty even with his bed and dresser in it.  
He desperately needed something to liven up the room, and a cactus sounded like the perfect accessory. Gaara always loved cacti, but now that he lived in Konoha, there weren't random street cacti anymore. There had been a chain of little shops that he had seen on his drive into town. Maybe one of the shops had potted plants.  
So now here he is, walking down unfamiliar streets to try to find the main street. Random strangers would smile and wave at him on the streets. Gaara felt a little bad because he can’t seem to smile back. It was a Saturday, so there were families out running errands. After about 20 minutes of freezing his ass off, he stumbled across a cute pastel purple flower shop.  
Gaara was never a very social person, so when the blonde employee smiled at him all he could do was give a forced, lopsided grin. He had hoped to find the cacti quickly, but that was proving to be difficult as there were no signs indicating where they would be.  
"Can I help you find something?" the girl behind the counter asked.  
"Um, do you sell cacti?" Gaara forced himself to ask.  
"Sure do! Come with me!" she borderline yelled. Gaara followed behind the blonde girl, over to a bright section of the store. The section was small, and the cacti weren't great looking either. This town wasn't really fit for raising cacti anyways.  
Gaara picked out the thinnest, yet still alive, cactus that was there. He would try his best to nurse it back to full health. He was walking up to the register when he noticed the big 'HIRING' sign in front of the register. Gaara needed a job, he has actual bills to pay now. The blonde girl must have noticed him staring at the sign because she gave him a paper. The application had questions about him on it. He took the pen she handed him and filled it out. Before he left, he gave her the paper and the money. When he got home, he placed the cactus on his window sill and admired the very first piece of decor in his room. Maybe he can do this after all.


	2. The boy with red hair

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lees perspective of the last chapter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi I can't seem to decide on a name for this story, cherry cola is a song by john kuwada it reminds me of leegaa everytime I hear it

Rock Lee is up at 5 am, as always. He finishes his morning work out by 7, with just enough time to shower before the shops open. Lee takes a speedy shower and puts on his signature green tracksuit. He waves goodbye to his dad Gai and walks out of the house, on his way to town. Lee jogs on the sidewalk past stores that sell various things, nothing of which Lee needs. Finally, Lee stops in front of an athletic wear store. Just as Lee is about to step into the store, he saw a boy walking out of the flower shop across the street. The boy had blood red hair and a tattoo on the left side of his forehead. Flower shop boy has a small cactus in his hands. Lee has never seen him around town, and Lee knows everybody. Just as Lee was about to drop everything to talk to this guy, he heard his name being called out. Rock looked in the direction he heard his name, there was a flash of yellow then his friend Naruto was in front of him. "Hey, Lee what are you doing out here?" Naruto asked tilting his head to the side. "Shopping for the new school year, of course!" Lee said matter-of-factly. Naruto grinned "Hey so am I, wanna walk around together?" "I would love to!" Lee smiled as they walked into the store, he'd never pass up the chance to hang out with his friend. "Hey by the way what were you looking at when I was calling your name?" Naruto asked not looking up from the water bottle he had in his hand that said: 'work hard sleep harder.'Lee almost dropped the shirt he was holding onto the ground as he stumbled for an answer to that unexpected question. "Um, the um..." Pretty boy by the flower shop? No that would be weird, oh shit the flowers. " I was looking at the flowers in the flower shop." "Oh yeah, the flowers are really pretty this year, were you thinking of buying some? Naruto asked, finally looking up from the water bottle to look out the window at the flower shop. "No just looking," Lee said nervously as he looked at the athletic shorts a little too closely.  
When Naruto and Lee got done in that store they made their way over to the flower shop to see Ino. As soon as they walked in they saw Ino Fumbling with some lilies trying to arrange them into a nice bouquet. She looked up nervously, but relaxed when she saw who it was. "Jesus I thought you were the customer who ordered this bouquet, I totally forgot that they ordered this for pick up today," Ino said putting the plastic wrap around the bottom of the flowers. "Is there anything that we can help with?" Lee asked while rocking back and forth on his feet itching to do something. "Actually if you don't mind could you take these flowers to the address that's stapled to them?" Ino handed Lee a bouquet of sunflowers, "I usually do drop-offs but my parents need me to watch over the shop today" Ino explained as she gave Naruto a watering can. Lee saluted her with the utmost seriousness "I Rock Lee will make sure these beautiful flowers get to their correct home." Ino saluted back halfheartedly before donning her gardening hat and heading out the back door. Lee looked at the address stapled to the flowers and smiled, it was the apartment building his good friend TenTen lived in. Rock set off down the sidewalk in a slight jog, it shouldn't take too long to drop the sunflowers off maybe he could visit her.  
Lee knocked on the door of the apartment softly and waited for the door to open. When it did open he was met by a girl with her hair up in four ponytails. How odd. She had sharp eyes but she was smiling. "Um did you order flowers?" Lee asked holding the flowers out to her. "Yes I did thank you," she said taking the flowers, giving him the money and a tip. Lee said thank you and just as he was about to turn to walk away he saw a boy with red hair walk out from a room and into what he presumed was the kitchen. Lee tore his eyes away from the door and said goodbye to the women who opened the door, he sped down the hall not stopping till he was at TenTens apartment.  
"So you saw a cute boy outside of the flower shop and then you delivered flowers to his apartment?" TenTen asked sipping at her cup of tea. "Yes Tenten, that's two separate times in a day I have seen the same cute stranger, that has to mean something right?" Lee asked desperately. Tenten smiled at her friend "if you make it mean something Lee." Lee teared up "what did I do to have such a good friend ?" Lee gave Tenten a hug then headed home to think long and hard about the boy with the red hair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please point out any mistakes I made.


	3. Which way do I go?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our lovely little Gaara starts his senior year and gets horribly lost. Lucky for him somebody is there to help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, Here is the third chapter. Thank you to anybody reading this

Gaara got up right as his alarm went off, he had 30 minutes to get dressed and out the door. If he took an appropriate amount of time to do his daily routine he should be able to walk slowly to school, instead of jogging. Gaara put on sweatpants and a large pullover, making it obvious he wasn't trying to impress anybody. He ate an apple and brushed his teeth. Gaara walked out the door and onto the sidewalk, beginning his walk to school. He arrived at the school doors right on time and pushed them open with great confidence. He wasn't nervous about his first day of senior year. It couldn't be that much different than the previous years, right? Sure he was going to a completely new school, but he had never bothered with names before so why start now? All Gaara had to do was keep his head low, and stick it out one more year. What Gaara hadn't thought about was how different two schools can be. Suna and Konoha were right next to each other, so they had sports matches against each other all the time. Gaara had never gone to a single one, therefore he had never seen the kids from Konoha high. They were all loud and happy, which was odd for a school environment. They were all in shorts and t-shirts once again, bastards. There didn't seem to be any groups keeping away from each other here either, the jocks were with the emos and the nerds were with the pretty girls. Back in Suna everybody just stuck to their own clique and didn't mingle with anyone else. This gonna be an odd year.  
Gaara looked at his surroundings, there was a nurses office to his left, a huge hall full of lockers right in front of him, and to his right the thing he was looking for, the office. Gaara shuffled into the office, and up to the front desk. The lady behind the desk heard the door close and looked up from her computer,"Hello, you must be Gaara I'm Mrs.Hakamichi, but you can call me Mrs.Shizune if you'd like." Gaara just nodded his head and looked her straight in the eyes, she had medium length brown hair and smiling eyes. Shizune handed Gaara a paper and a green slip, she pointed to the paper "This will be your schedule for this semester," then she pointed at the green slip "show this to the teacher and he won't count you late," she gave him a wave goodbye as he walked out. 

Gaara walked around for at least 20 minutes trying to find his class, he was getting progressively more pissed off. Just as he was about to say fuck it and drop out of school he saw a familiar face walking the halls with two people trailing after her. It was the blonde girl from the flower shop, the first person on her left side had his hair pulled back slightly and had a bag of chips in his hand, the guy on her right had a man bun and looked extremely bored with life. Gaara had two choices here, he could either wander around aimlessly till school let out or he could pull himself together and ask for directions. Well considering he doesn't remember this girls name at all, he wasn't going to initiate conversation with her. That was until she called out "hey little red, are you lost?" Gaara assumed he was 'little red', so he turned around to find himself face to face with her. "Um yes, I'm trying to find Mr.Hatakes class," Gaara managed to spit out. The girl's eyes lit up "oh I have him for third period!" She smiled as she took his hand and dragged him up a flight of stairs. As they continued walking she turned to him "my name is Ino by the way, how is your cactus doing?". "I'm Gaara and it's doing fine sitting on my window sill," Gaara said getting more comfortable as time went on.

Finally, Ino stopped in front of a door with a sign on it that reads 'I'm always watching'. "How creepy," Gaara murmured as he put his hand on the door to push it open. "he's a bit weird, but all in all a good teacher," Ino said as she grabbed her friends and walked back down the hall. Gaara silently opened the door, hoping to sneak past the teacher and into a seat. "Class we have a new student today" He heard the teacher come up behind him. Fuck. Mr. Hatake Grasped Gaara's shoulders and pulled him to the front of the classroom, all eyes were on him. Gaara looked into the crowd of eyes, they all looked quite welcoming well except for that one emo kid in the back. "Please introduce yourself," Kakashi said under his face mask. "Hello my name is Gaara, I'm from Suna." Gaara finished looking at Kakashi for permission to sit down. Kakashi rolled his eyes and motioned for him to sit in the middle row two seats in, next to a girl with her hair in two buns. The girl smiled at him as he sat down, the gesture was nice and friendly just like everything else in this school. 

A first class of the school year is finished, next is gym. Shit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, me again. I have a twitter if you wanna check it out it's @gaaras_hole. I promise I'm less awkward there, I mainly shit post about leegaa headcanons. If you see any grammar errors please tell me


	4. I don't want to run

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gaara hates gym enough to not do it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the interaction begins. Enjoy the ride folks.  
> Also a little explanation as to why Gaara is the "New Kid" even though the school year just began. Well, when Gaara got that cactus in the first chapter and Lee got school things on the same day it was a couple days before school started and Gaara had just moved there so he wasn't signed up yet, hence the new kid title. He was just a little late to the school year.

It isn't like Gaara doesn't exercise, he takes a walk almost every night. He just doesn't do strenuous activity, like running or weightlifting. So as you can imagine he despises gym, the entire class is strenuous activity. Who the fuck made his second class of the day gym? This has to be some form of child abuse or child endangerment. Gaara weaved through the hallways of screaming teens, towards the double doors. He on his walk to school he had noticed a sign that said 'GYMNASIUM' on the other side of the school, separate from the main building. As Gaara made his way across the schoolyard he heard yelling behind him, when he turned around he saw Ino and her two friends walking over to him. He stopped and waited for them to catch up when they finally reached him the girl looked at him and then to the two guys. "Oh Gaara I never introduced you to my friends," she said looking over to the one with the man bun "this is Shikamaru" then she looked over to the bigger one "and this is choji." She put her hands down as the two guys waved at Gaara, Shikamaru gave a lazy "hey". They continued to walk to the gym side by side.

When they finally got to the gym they were greeted by a man in a bright green jumpsuit. He was smiling to the heavens as he greeted them all by name, Gaara was about a week late to school so he was sure he hadn't missed much, but somehow this man had managed to memorize all of these names. The man clapped his hands together and smiled even wider as he said "alright students, in the first week of school I tested how fast you could run the mile, this week you are doing the same thing" the whole class groaned except for one excited yell, the teacher continued "you will run the mile every week to keep track of your time over the year, now line up against the wall" the teacher pointed to the brick wall. Gaara made his way over to the wall as slowly as he could. When everybody was lined up the teacher called out his name "Gaara please come up here," ugh Gaara knew what this was. Gaara walked up to the front and the teacher loudly stated "Hello my name is gai," why do all of these teachers go by their first names? Gaara stared at him for a while before realizing he was supposed to introduce himself to the class. He turned to them and gave the same introduction he did in the last class. Bland and boring. Gai beamed and told Gaara he could go back to his spot. 

They all stood on the track in their gym clothes, which for Gaara was a slightly less large hoodie and sweatpants. Most of the people had normal clothes on but one kind, in particular, caught his eye. He had on a bright green jumpsuit just like the teacher, and now that he thinks about it he looks exactly like him too. They must be related in some way. Gaara stood there as everybody stretched, that's when it hit him. He didn't want to do this, at all. In fact, while everyone else was preoccupied he managed to sneak away to the bleachers. He was not running, he was going to hide until the end of class. At least that was the plan until the kid with the obnoxious jumpsuit came up to him. "Hey why aren't you on the track?" he asked nealing down. "I don't want to run, and you can't make me," Gaara said as he put on his fearsome glare that sent shivers down grown men's spines. To his surprise, the kid laughed and put his hand out "I'm Rock Lee nice to meet you." Gaara took the hand and suddenly he was being helped up, he brushed his pants off and looked at Lee. He was tall with nice muscles and thick eyebrows. His eyes were big and round and his mouth looked like it was made to smile. His hair cut into a messy bowl cut. Gaara caught himself staring for a little too long, but Lee hadn't noticed thank god.

Lee was about to say something but Gai blew the whistle as a final warning to be on the track soon, or you'd be left behind. Gaara began to sit back down in his hiding spot when Lee started to talk. "If you don't run the mile you'll get a bad grade," he said in a worried tone obviously concerned for Gaara's grade. Gaara shrugged and closed his eyes, Gym wasn't really an important class. He would live with a B in this class. Just as Gaara was about to forget where he was, he felt a hand tap his head. When he looked up, Lee was extending his hand to him. Gaara hesitantly took his hand which made Lee put a pleased smile on his face. Just as Gaara was about to ask why they were holding hands Lee started walking towards the track dragging Gaara along. 

Murder was the only thing in Gaara's mind right now, cold-blooded murder. There is no way in hell he's running or even walking a mile with a group of sweaty teens. As Lee approached the track Gai looked over at them and smiled. "Ah, Lee did you convince him to run the mile?" Gai asked looking at Gaara then back at Lee. "no," Gaara said in a deadpan voice lifting his hand that was still in Lee's death grip. Gai looked at Gaara and sighed "it is his choice whether or not he gets a good grade this year," with that Gai walked away. Gaara saw lee switch moods almost instantly, he went from the cheerful bowl cut kid to a determined firey ball of pure passion. "I will make sure you pass gym even if you don't want to," Lee smiled brightly. Gaara narrowed his eyes " I'm already tired, I'm not running." Lee thought a bit then turned around and squatted onto the ground, "if you will not run the mile I will run it for you." Gaara looked down at Lee and sighed, this guy really wasn't going to take no for an answer. Gaara cautiously got onto Lee's back, holding onto his shoulders. Lee smiled and stood up walking them over to the track. Gaara wasn't used to being so high up, it was nice and even. People stared at them as they got onto the track. Gaara didn't mind much though. Lee got down kind of low, in a running position and waited. As soon as Gai blew the whistle Lee was off, running down the track so fast Gaara felt like he was going to fall off. Gaara had now taken purchase of Lee's hair and put his face into the crook off Lee's neck. A few moments later everything stopped, he looked up to see Gai smiling at Lee and clapping. "Good job my boy you were faster than your last score by a few seconds" he beamed. Lee smiled and hopped from one foot to the other in excitement. Gaara shimmied his body a little bit signaling to Lee that he wants down. Lee bent down and let Gaara slide off of his back. When Gaara's feet touched the ground it felt as if he had just stepped foot on an alien planet. He looked up to see Lee, both of their hair is properly messed up. Lee has a bit of sweat on his face from running but otherwise unfazed by the fact that he had just run a mile. Gaara looked at his feet in thought, how do you go about thanking somebody who just ran a kile for you? He settled with a polite thank you and a small smile. That seemed to be the correct answer because Lee smiled brightly. He really is too nice for this world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading. If you notice any mistakes please notify me.


	5. Run!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the same chapter as last, but it's in lee's Pov.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's almost 3 am but I realized I haven't posted in a long time. sorry about that. Also sorry if this seems kind of rushed, I didn't really know how to change the scenes for Lee's Pov

Lee loves sports, anything that has to do with movement is his element. He plays sports, he lifts weights, he runs. Its always been that way ever since he was a kid, he grew up with an athletic dad so naturally, he picked up on it. His favorite sport is any of the martial arts he does, jujitsu in particular. His favorite class in school was of course gym class, it let him be his natural crack head self with no restraints or boundaries. It actually encouraged it, he was praised and envied for being good at athletics. It helped a lot that his dad was the teacher in his school gym class and his martial arts. 

Lee bolted from the classroom as soon as the bell rang, he was headed to the gym to quench his need for activity. He fast-walked through the hallways that were bursting with noise and bodies. Lee finally gets to the double doors leading out to the o[en schoolyard. He pushes them open and begins to pick up the pace, now fully sprinting. He feels the wind on his face and his legs moving without effort. Lee is having a nice sprint down the sidewalk when he sees a flicker of red as he passes a group of four. He decreases his speed by 50 percent and "sneakily" turns his head to see who was the owner of his attention. There, in the middle of Shikamaru and Ino is the boy from the flower shop. The boy with the blood red hair and piercing blue eyes. Lee now takes a full stop, standing more still than he has ever been, as the blood-head walks past him in his little huddle of friends. Lee watches as they walk towards the gym as Lee stands there with wide eyes and invisible drool running down his mouth. Lee is snapped out of it when somebody accidentally bumps into him, trying to beat the bell. Oh, shit the bell. Lee leans down and runs to the gym, passing the original group one more time before walking into the gym. Gai greets him and gives him a quick pat on the back smiling as usual. "Alright students, in the first week of school I tested how fast you could run the mile, this week you are doing the same thing," Gai says followed by a montage of groans and moans. Lee is the only one that 'whoops'. "You will run the mile every week to keep track of your time over the year, now line up against the wall" the Gai pointed to the brick wall. Lee leaps up and makes his way over to the wall, as he did this he notices the read head going over to talk to his father. Soon Gaara is in front of all of the class, he looks mildly uncomfortable. Oh, he's gonna introduce himself, Lee is excited for this. He can finally put a name to the beautiful face. Lee sucks up as much information as he can while also studying the details of his face. So his name is Gaara and he is from Suna, Gaara is such an odd name, but it fits his extraterrestrial beauty so well. Gaara made his way back to his spot, and the whole class went to the locker rooms to change into athletic clothing.

Lee was now standing on the track in his green jumpsuit, subtly sneaking glances at Gaara in his hoodie and sweatpants. Lee leans down to touch his toes, out of the corner of his eye he sees a figure moving past him and over to the bleachers. He brings his body up and in time to see Gaara making his way over to the bleachers. Lee has about 5 minutes until they have to run the mile, it was now his mission to make Gaara run this mile. As Gaara sits down next to the bleachers, Lee makes a mad dash over to him. "Hey why aren't you on the track?" he asked nealing down to Gaara's height on the ground. "I don't want to run, and you can't make me," Gaara said glaring, the glare was obviously meant to scare lee off. But Gaara didn't know just how determined Lee was. Lee laughed at the glare and outstretched his hand "I'm Rock Lee nice to meet you." As soon as Gaara took his hand Lee pulled him up. Lee found himself staring at Gaara, his body was small and thin, but he did;t look malnourished. He had a small face, his lips were pink and pointed down. His eyes were almond shaped and had dark circles around them, contrasting beautifully with his aqua colored eyes. He was perfect. 

Just as Lee was going to find out why Gaara didn't want to run he heard the warning whistle go off. Gaara began to sit back down, this was not good, Lee made a vow to himself to not fail. "If you don't run the mile you'll get a bad grade," Lee tested out the waters. Gaara shrugged and closed his eyes, wow he really doesn't care about his gym grade. Lee tapped on Gaara's head and kept his hand in front of him, smiling when Gaara took it for the second time today. Before Gaara could start asking questions Lee started to pull him back to the track. Every so often Lee would look back at Gaara and try not to giggle at the face of pure anger he had glued to his face. As Lee approached the track Gai looked over at them and smiled. "Ah, Lee did you convince him to run the mile?" Gai asked looking at Gaara then back at Lee. "No," Gaara said in a deadpan voice lifting their hands. Gai sighed "it is his choice whether or not he gets a good grade this year," with that Gai walked away. "I will make sure you pass gym even if you don't want to," Lee smiled brightly. Gaara narrowed his eyes " I'm already tired, I'm not running." Lee thought for a second then turned around and squatted onto the ground, "if you will not run the mile I will run it for you." It seems like Gaara finally got the message climbing onto Lee's back, holding onto his shoulders loosely. Lee slowly got up and walked over to the starting line, getting into running position and waits for the whistle. As soon as Gai blew the whistle Lee took off, running faster then he ever has. He heard Gaara let out a yelp as he clung to his shoulders for dear life. Lee gradually began to pick up the pace, working his body up to a certain pace. Gaara had abandoned Lee's shoulders and took purchase of his hair, pulling at it. His face lowered into the crook of Lee's neck, breathing lightly. Lee smiled as he finally finished the mile, feeling good about himself. Gai ran up to him clapping "Good job my boy you were faster than your last score by a few seconds" he beamed. Lee smiled bouncing from foot to foot. Gaara wiggled his body on his back signaling he wanted down, Lee bent down and let Gaara slide off of his back. Sweat was running down his face, but he felt great. Lee turned around and looked at Gaara, his hair was messier than it was before and his jacket was slightly hiked up. He was absolutely beautiful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, if you notice any mistakes make sure to tell me.


	6. Makin stacks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gaara talks to Lee again  
> Ino has some exciting news for Gaara and we get a peek at Naruto and Sasuke

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a little warning: it gets a bit NSFW at the end. 
> 
> sorry? I didn't mean to put that in but it's 4 am I'm tired and delusional

Gaara had made it through his first week of school, he had 3 friends...wait were they his friends? Ino and her two friends had started to talk to him more in between classes, and sometimes in Gym. That probably means they want to talk to him at least a little bit. So he had three possible friends, and none of his teachers hated him. Score. Sometimes, in Gym, Gaara caught himself thinking back to Lee running the mile with him on his back. That kid was so odd. 

Gaara wakes up to go to school for his second week of school, putting on sweatpants and a thin long sleeve shirt that had 'thrasher' written across it in bold fiery letters. He had been asked by random people on the street 'oh my god how can you wear long sleeves in this weather?' he doesn't blame them, they don't know where he's from. He always answers back with a polite 'i just like the heat' which isn't a lie, Gaara loves to be warm. On the topic of warm, Gaara can already feel winter coming and he had never experienced an actual cold winter before. This is gonna be heaven and hell. 

Gaara brushes his teeth and tries to brush his hair, but he can never get it to stay down. He gives up after about five minutes, grabbing his bag and heading out the door. As Gaara opened the door to the building he could feel that the air was the coolest it had been since he had arrived in Konoha. Maybe such a thin shirt wasn't a good idea, but it was too late to go change now. Gaara adjusted the bag on his shoulder and put his earbuds in. Who should he listen to today? There's Frank Ocean, Billie Eilish, and Chase Atlantic. He chooses Chase Atlantic and starts walking as 'Numb to the Feeling' starts to play. Not the perfect song for the action, but it's one of his favorite songs by them so he keeps it. 

Time seems to speed up, and soon Gaara is sitting in his first-period class. Over the past week, Gaara has learned that for some reason Mr.Hatake doesn't give much work or homework but it's the class Gaara learns the most in. Today they were reading the whole class period because it was Monday and nobody likes to work on Mondays. When the class bell rang Kakashi didn't even look up from his book as all of the students filed out of the room.

Now, it was time for Gym, it was also the beginning of a new week, that means it was time to run a mile. Sike. Gaara wasn't running the mile, and he was not about to have Lee carry him again. So he had Temari write him a note stating that if he ran he would vomit, she added a cherry on top by adding a forged doctors signature at the bottom. Gai bought it and said he wouldn't put Gaara through that much agony. Gaara felt slightly bad, but at least he didn't have to run. 

Gaara walked to the Gymnasium, on the door was a note that wrote 'change into your Gym clothes them meet at the track' Gaara rolled his eyes and began to walk over to the red track. As Gaara reached the track he realized he was one of the first ones there. It was only him, Lee, and a group of guys fucking around on the track. Gaara walked up to the bleachers and sat down in the first row. Soon he heard footsteps on the bleachers, and then Lee sat down next to him. Not saying anything to each other wasn't as awkward as Gaara thought it would be. A gust of wind slowly rolled over the field, Gaara shivered as the wind cut through his thin sweatshirt. Lee looked over at him then reached into his bag, pulling out a sweater. "Are you cold? Here take this," Lee held out the sweater to him smiling. Gaara contemplated lying and saying he wasn't cold, but he was so he took the sweater and slipped it on. It smelled like the woods, in the best way possible. Gaara refrained from full-on sniffing it, instead, he turned to Lee and nodded in thanks. 

Gai blew the whistle and all of the people that had come in loaded onto the track, getting into position. A few minutes later the whistle blew one last time. The runners took off some fast, others slow, but Lee was ahead of them all running with a smile on his face. Gaara looked down at the sweater he was wearing, it was a dark green, meshing with the woody smell it gave off. It had the words 'Konoha Jujitsu', damn lee does a lot of things. Gaara lifted his arms to get out his phone, finally noticing how big the sweater is. It covered his hands by a landslide, His torso was much too short for it so it scrunched up. His width was comparably smaller then the sweater was obviously meant for, but he was a pretty skinny guy so that was expected. He felt warm and cozy in it even if he was drowning in a sea of green. 

When Gaara finally got his phone out he noticed a text, it was from Ino. 'Hey Little red riding hood come eat lunch with us today' Gaara stared at the phone for a second. He usually ate lunch in the library because they had better wifi, but if Ino wants him to then he will. Gaara finally looked up when Gai started clapping, patting the students on the backs, praising them. Gai looked at his watch and dismissed the class for the day, Gaara got up and scanned the track for Lee. He spotted him jogging back to the main building, there is no way Gaara can catch up to him with his short ass legs. Gaara started walking back to the school, a bit faster than usual. He quickly found his way to the cafeteria, looking for the table with Ino at it. Finally, he spotted her blonde ponytail, sitting at a table with another blond and the emo kid. They were bickering about something and Ino looked done with life. She spotted Lee and her eyes lit up, she whistled and motioned for him to come over. He slowly made his way over to the table, the argument slowly rising as he stepped closer. "All I'm saying is there are worse ways to break up then a text!" the bright blond one yelled. "No there is not, I'd rather have fish eyes dropped in my mouth then get broken up with through text" the dark haired one growled using his hands to emphasize how serious he was. Ino threw a packet of ketchup at them and shushed her. Gaara sit down I have good news!" she pointed to the seat next to her. Gaara sat down and tilted his head, "news?" Ino smiled and grabbed his hands "we're co-workers now!" she squeezed his hands. Gaara could feel the wheels in his head spinning, co-workers? Oh, shit, that's right he applied for a job at the flower shop. He tried his best to smile normally and slightly squeezed her hands back "ah, tell your parents or I said thank you for hiring me." Ino laughed "you can tell them yourself, come by the shop after school and I'll introduce you to the shop and my parents." Gaara sighed and nodded, at least he'll have a steady income now. 

The final bell of the day rang and all of the kids ran out, finally free. Gaara searched one last time for Lee, he still had his jacket. He hadn't seen him all day, which was weird since they had other classes together. Oh well, Lee was always in class for Gym, he'll give it back then. Gaara was about to go back home when he remembered, Ino. He was actually quite surprised that his brain remembered the way to the shop. When he walked in the bell rang, and Ino popped out from behind a shelf. "Hey Gaara, my parents just went out to buy new pots they should be back soon," she said dusting off her hands and sitting on a stool. She looked him up and down, "isn't that Lee's jacket?" Gaara's eyes widened if Ino could tell who this sweater belonged to then did everybody in school? Gaara bit his lip and nodded "yeah I was cold in Gym so he let me borrow it, but I didn't have time to give it back." Ino Smirked and nudged his side, she was about to say something but was interrupted by the bell ringing. Her mom came in and smiled at the two, her dad came in right behind her mom, he was carrying a load of pots. 

After both parents shook Gaara's hand they smiled at him as he thanked them for hiring him. They commented on his face tattoo, asking how old he was when he got it and if it hurt. Gaara tried to make contact as much as possible, but it was hard when they were staring at him like that. Eventually, ino stepped in and told them there was something in the back room that needed to be looked at. she smiled down at Gaara and ruffled his hair "I can tell you aren't good with people so I'll try to give you as much work that's needed that isn't the cashier." Gaara thanked her and got his schedule for the month. Looks good. 

When Gaara got home he flopped onto his bed, in doing so the sweater he was still wearing lifted up to cover his nose. He inhaled the sent like it was his life source. I mean it kind of was, it was like flavored air. He pushed the sweater even closer to his nose and began huffing it in. He thought about Lee wearing it, he thought about Lee's voice. Gaara felt his pants get a bit tighter, he pushed his thighs together and stuck his face into his pillow. No, he had morals, he is not about to jack off wearing Lee's sweater.No. Even as Gaara thought about what an awful person that would make him, he felt his hand slip into his sweatpants

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please point out mistakes


	7. Bu Dum

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gaara talks about past crushes   
> Gaara gets Shukaku

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for how rushed this seems

Gaara woke up laying on top of his comforter, shivering. He looked at his phone, it was 5:30 am. It made sense he went to sleep at like 7 last night. As Gaara thought back to last night, he flushed remembering the action that tired him out so much. Looking down he sees that the sweater isn't on his body anymore, that was probably why he's so cold. He must've taken it off before he passed out.

Gaara had a few crushes in Elementry school and in middle school, he never acted on them or told anyone. Never had a boyfriend before, they could never tell he thought they were attractive. Thinking back to the boys he used to crush on and comparing them to Lee he saw a signature attribute that they had in common. Athletics, they were all in sports clubs and on sports teams. One major difference between Lee and the others is that Lee actually talked to him, and Gaara liked his personality. He had never talked too much to his past crushes, but he could tell that they were assholes. They were kids, kids are dicks, proven fact.

Gaara groaned and rolled out of bed, taking off his thrasher shirt and putting on a black shirt with black and white checkers on the side. He had his first day of work after school today, so why not dress up a bit. He grabbed some ripped jeans and fishnets, he had owned these since freshman year and had worn them maybe once. He put on the fishnets and pants when he looked in the mirror he laughed. Maybe he might start putting a bit of effort into his appearance, he didn't look as bad as before. Gaara grabbed a handful of cereal, heading for the apartment door. He stepped outside and sighed, this town is bipolar or some shit. Yesterday he was freezing tits, and today it was normal Konoha weather.

After school, Gaara headed down to the flower shop for his first day of work. He hopes it goes by fast, and without a hitch. He opens the door to the shop and scans the room for Ino, he finds her hunched over a box of flower pots. She's muttering and rubbing one, Gaara walks closer and taps her shoulder. She turns to him and without even a "hello" she pushes a pot into his face and cries out "Look at this pot, I chipped it and now it's ruined!" she says as she continues to rub it like she's calming down a child.

Eventually, she puts down the pot and stands up, rummaging through a box and pulling out a light blue apron with faux flowers at the straps. "Here put this on and follow me," she says picking up the pots and putting them back in the storage room. Ino leads Gaara over to the main flower section, "These flowers need to be watered," she says picking up a watering can and pouring water on a flower, "that is the same amount for every flower in this section," she says handing him the can. "When you're done you can leave, I don't want to overwork you on your first day," she says walking to the cash register to ring up a customer. This is the type of work Gaara can handle, no need for interaction just do it and leave.

Gaara does his watering for the day, and after checking the flowers over one more time he brings his apron back to Ino and walks out the door. On his way back home he notices a pet shelter, Gaara had always wanted a cat but they're expensive. But on the other hand, Gaara doesn't pay bills and he now has a job. He'll think about it.

 

my lazy ass is not about to write a week of work.

Gaara had finished his first week of work, the flower shop would pay him every Friday. Gaara had thought about it, he wanted a cat. He had told his sibling he was planning on getting a cat, he had the ok from his sister so the plan was in motion. Saturday morning Gaara and Kankuro woke up bright and early, they got dressed and ate. Temari couldn't go with them today, she had to work. After they brushed their teeth and put on their shoes, they headed towards the elevator. Walking out onto the sidewalk, Gaara could feel the air getting colder as it gets closer to October. He shivered and turned his face down, his nose already turning slightly red.

They made it to the shelter in record time, Gaara would never admit it but he was supremely excited but shhhhh. They walked into the shelter and could hear dogs barking from the kennels. Gaara wasn't against dogs, but he was living in an apartment at the moment. Also, he liked cats better than most things in the world. 'Except for Lee' his mind reminded him, it was almost scary how fast he acquired a crush on Lee. Soon a girl that looks around her mid 20's, walked out from the back. "Hello, are you looking for any animal in particular?" She asked smiling. Kankuro looked at Gaara, obviously waiting for him to talk, god damn. "Um yeah, actually I'm looking for a cat." Gaara fiddled with the hem of his shirt, this lady had intimidating energy. "Oh, we don't have a very big selection of cats, but we have enough to fall in love with. She led them through the kennels, they had a lot of dogs but they all seemed happy which was rare for a shelter. She opened a door and let them in, there were about 10 kennels with cats in them. They were all either playing around in their kennels or sleeping on the bed attached to their wall. All except one, that was pacing around the kennel, it was sandy brown and had black tiger stripes, their ears were black and they had a sour face. It was on the pudgier side and had a big fluffy tail. Gaara walked over to the kennel and bend down, the cat stopped and hissed at him. Gaara flinched slightly but kept his stance, the door opened and a guy that looked around 18-19 came in "I'll take it from her, mom needs you back at the front" he said coming over to Kankuro. "Hi, I'm Kiba," He said smiling, Kankuro took his hand with a smirk "well hello there, the names Kankuro," he said leaning his elbow on one of the kennels. Gaara could feel bile in his throat already, so he cut the introduction short, "this one." he said pointing at the kennel. Kiba came over to him and shuddered, "really? that one? out of all of these beautiful cats you chose the meanest." Gaara didn't answer, he just stared. "Alright fine, but I'll warn you this cat has been brought back 4 times because of behavioral issues," Kiba said getting the keys to the kennels, as soon as he opened it the cat attacked his leg. Kiba groaned and tore the cat off of him. "He's no match for the dogs I've been bitten by" Kiba turns and winks at Kankuro. Gaara fake vomits and takes the cat into his arms, he goes limp in his arms as soon as he touches his ears. Gaara smiled and scratched the cat's ears, looking at the tag around its neck, "it" was a he and he was named Shukakau, he was 3 years old. Kiba handed him some papers and told him to sign them, Gaara signed the papers and walked out with his new cat tucked into his sweater.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please correct anything I did wrong


	8. Fall for anyone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here is a really short chapter about Lee telling Gai and Kakashi about his major crush on Gaara.

Rock Lee falls for anyone. His first crush was in kindergarten, he was completely infatuated with a boy in his class. He had a hard time bottling up his emotions, so we showed them off. He walked directly up to the boy and gave him a broken flower. "Please be my boyfriend!" he yelled not caring enough to look around at all of the shocked expressions around him from adults and other children. He got turned down, it broke his heart but only for a minute. Lee had always been able to keep a positive attitude, always picking himself up when he was knocked down. When Lee was in the 6th grade he realized he was gay, he was a bit late because his dads already knew. Lee had a new crush every couple of months after the boy rejected him he would find another boy to like. 

Lee was sure this was it, this would be his last crush. He would never find anyone more beautiful than Gaara. Even if Gaara doesn't feel the same about him, it doesn't matter Lee will never get over him. Lee didn't even try to hide his crush, he was so drawn into Gaara's ocean eyes it wasn't even funny. 

On the day Lee had carried Gaara the whole mile he ran home and basically leaped through the door, ran upstairs and got into work out clothes. He had to work out until his dads got home, then he would tell his dad all about it. 

When Gai got home Lee bounded down the stairs like a bat out of hell. "DAD, I met the most beautiful boy today he has the deepest blue eyes and the cutest lips!" Lee shouted before Gai could even say hello. "Is it that boy from PE?" Gai asked as his mouth twisted into a smile. Lee stared wide-eyed for a second, then remembered Gai was his PE teacher. "Yes it is he's so cute I want to wrap him up in a blanket and hold him forever," Lee swooned as he sat in the kitchen table. Gai smiled and tried not to think about how different this was compared to all of Lee's other crushes. Gai was a real believer in true love, and Lee seemed to be in love, he just hopes Gaara is too. Lee went on and on about how soft Gaara looked when he was upset, it kind of reminded Gai of his high school romance. 

Lee falls for anyone, but this might be real.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, is there anything you'd like to see more of?


	9. Gai you cheeky shit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gaara's gym class gets assigned partners

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah I'm glad people like my story, thanks guys

Shukaku was adapting quite well to his new home, Gaara had spent the majority of his paycheck on cat toys and treats. He had too much power, the guy at the shelter gave Gaara a discount on Shukaku because "he's a handful" but Gaara could tell he just wants to get with Kankuro. Gaara had anticipated having a small amount of money in his account for buying a living breathing cat but he surprisingly still had bucks to spend, Shukaku was living in luxury. Kankuro helped Gaara build a cat tree for him in the hallway, it had three perches for the cat to lounge on. Shukaku had taken it upon himself to let Kankuro know how much he hates the human, swiping at him everytime he walked past his cat tree. Gaara had been scratched so much his entire hand was covered in band-aids, but Shukaku seemed to be warming up to his new owner quickly. Temari wasn't a target of any heinous crimes committed by the cat, Shukaku could tell that if he messed with Temari she would kick him out. Needless to say, Shukaku is staying.

Ok Shukaku arc over, let's get into the actual story part now.

Gaara rolled out of bed, walking into his bathroom to brush his teeth. Gaara looked up at his reflection through groggy eyes, god his hair was a birds nest. Gaara wet his hands and attempted to smooth this hair down to no avail. Hair is a wild animal that can not be tamed by mere water. Giving up after about ten minutes of slicking his hair down, only for it to spring back up Gaara brushed his teeth and walked over to his closet. It is officially October, which means oversized knit sweater season. Gaara puts on his nude oversized sweater, feeling all cozy and shit.

Gaara is sat in first period, feeling a bit uncomfortable. Every time Gaara looked over at the teacher he was slyly looking over his book at him. Had he done something wrong? Was he sitting weird? Was there a dick drawn on his face? Well if he wasn't going to face him head on then Gaara will just ignore it.

Second period, gym, Gai seems to be upset that Gaara doesn't participate but he doesn't push it too much. Gaara pushes the double doors open and sits in his designated spot, Gai stood at the front of the class beaming. "Class, today we're going to get into partners for the year" he boomed. Gai grabbed his clipboard and started reading off names. Shikamaru and Choji ended up together, Ino ended up with the girl named TenTen. Gai looked up from his clipboard and smiled calling out the last pair. Gaara and Lee. Gaara felt his eyes widen a bit, knowing he defiled the thought of Lee a week ago. Lee smiled and got up to sit by Gaara, looking over at Gai before he sat. All of the students had been paired into their couples. Gaara leaned on his knuckles and hoped they didn't try to make him do strenuous work the first day.

Looks like the gods weren't on Gaara's side today, they had to record how many push-ups their partner can do and report it back to Gai. Gaara wasn't the most strong in his arms, he kind of looked like a wet noodle. He was about to be put to shame by Lee, although Gaara wasn't exactly complaining about that. It would be interesting to see how many push-ups Lee could do. Gaara kind of wanted Lee to pick him up, in the least gay way possible. Lee hopped up and put his hand on his hip, "Do you want to go first?" What was Gaara supposed to say? No? Sighing Gaara rolled over and pushed himself into the push-up position.

He got less than 30 but it was better than last year so Gaara took it as an achievement. Lee didn't seem surprised about the number, getting down into the push-up position he looked over at Gaara and gave him a small smile. "Can you um..." he stopped for a second, "sit on my back?" Gaara felt himself flinch a bit, wasn't he too heavy? Gaara looked at Lee to check if he was joking, he wasn't. Gaara slowly got up and slid onto Lee's back, he was sitting on him like a chair just in case Lee collapsed and Gaara had to get off very fast. Lee laughed a bit and gave Gaara a nod of readiness. Going down faster than a theme park ride and coming back up just as fast. Gaara wobbled a bit and grabbed a fistful of Lee's shirt, putting one finger up.

Lee never broke his set speed, never panted out of breath. It went on like that until Gai blew his whistle, the class was over. Almost 150, amazing. Gaara got up and watched Lee jump up, his face wasn't even red yet. This guy is batshit crazy. They both walked over to the front of the gym where everybody was telling Gai their scores when it was their turn Lee said Gaara's score with confidence, weird. When Gaara told Lee's score Gai looked over to Lee and smiled "looks like I should have been the one sitting on your back," he said writing down their scores on his chart.

While Gaara was walking out of the gym he heard heavy footsteps behind him, Lee sprinted past him and stopped, turning towards him. "HI, um I was just wondering if I could have your number since you know we're partners now," Lee said all in one heaping word. Gaara got it though and pulled out his phone, Lee smiled and did the same. After they exchanged numbers and Lee complimented Gaara's last name they went on their way.

Gaara walked to his next class unaware that Lee was just as ecstatic and nervous as he was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me if you find some mistakes or if something doesn't make sense


	10. Halloween shopping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ino and Gaara go shopping

Gaara walks out of the school, standing at the top of the front stairs. He lifts himself up onto his tiptoes and scans the vicinity, Ino had insisted that Gaara went with her to the Uchiha's Halloween party. Gaara was a bit too awkward to say no, so he agreed to go out with her to the mall to find an outfit to wear. 

Gaara flattened his feet and sighed, wrapping his arms around his middle. While he was debating whether or not to wait inside of the school he heard a loud ass whistle. He turned his head and saw Ino standing next to her car, with her fingers in her mouth like she was about to whistle again. Gaara raised his hand insinuating that he saw her and he was on his way. Gaara clumsily toddled down the school steps and made his way over to the blonde and her vehicle. 

As he walked closer he saw Ino holding something out to him, it was a cup of coffee. He took it eagerly and sipped at the top, it was exactly how he always ordered it when they went out together. He should be freaked out that she has memorized his order after getting coffee with him twice but he can't find it in himself. 

Ino walked around the car and opened the door, tilting an imaginary fedora "M'lady," she said pretending to put the hat back on. Gaara dramatically put his hand over his heart, pretending to faint. He ducked his head and sat in the seat, putting his coffee in the cup holder so he could buckle. Ino turned the key in the ignition and sped out of the parking lot.

They drove for about 15 minutes, Ino pulled into a large parking lot, there were Halloween decorations on all of the trees and stop signs. They really went all out this year, damn.

They walk through the parking lot, avoiding the huge puddles from the heavy rain they got yesterday. Ino stopped in from of the mural and gave Gaara her phone, "Hey take a picture on me for my Instagram," she said posing in the classic Insta poses. Gaara snapped at least twenty pictures of her before she liked one. They continued to walk into the mall, stores were overflowing with teens. Ino took his had and dragged him into a store with dresses in the front window. She never actually told Gaara what she was going to the party as knowing her it would be weird but not too extravagant.

Ino sifted through the dresses isle, scoffing at some of the dresses. Finally, she let out an excited laugh, "Ah Ha found it," she held up a short dress, very short. She walked over to the leggings and grabbed some white thick ones. Holding both articles of clothes to her body and looked at Gaara, "what do you think?" Gaara looked at it for a second, "Um what are you going to be?" Ino laughed and walked to the cash register as if Gaara hadn't said anything at all.

Gaara and Ino walked out of the store, Ino announcing very loudly that she needed a new bra because he got grease all over this one. She told Gaara he could go somewhere else but to meet her back at the water fountain at 6. Gaara nodded and watched her walk away, this Mall was smaller than the one in Suna, but it had stores that Gaara had never heard of before. There was a store that was only open in the winter, Suna didn't have winter. His clothes fit fine, he doesn't really need anything from a mall. Gaara wandered around for a while before finding himself in front of a candle store. His room could use some nice scents wafting through it to take away from the bareness. Gaara walked into the store and looked around, it was dimly lit and had no music playing, instead of music it had the sounds of rain. Gaara couldn't really complain, it was serene, the perfect vibes for a candle store. Walking through, looking at all of the candles and their names was calming. Some scents smelt good, but none stood out in particular. Gaara noticed one sitting in the middle of the top shelf, it was a dark blue, almost black. The picture on the front was of the middle of a forest. Gaara grabbed a stool from the corner and attempted to get the candle. His fingertips pinched it and brought it down slowly, like a crane. The lid popped off quite easily, as soon as Gaara opened it he closed it and looked at the label. It was titled 'deep woods' of fucking course it is. 

Gaara looked at the candle for a second then opened it again, taking a sniff. Yup, he wasn't dreaming this did smell like Lee. Gaara tried to tell himself that he was better than this and that he didn't need it. But the ugly truth is that Gaara isn't better than this and he felt like he would die if he was cut cold turkey off of the scent. Gaara paid for the candle and walked back to the fountain. 

Ino came back with a smirk on her face, for some reason she didn't have any bags from bra stores. She did have another bag though. She handed Gaara the bag and took a peek into his, taking out his candle and smelling it. Gaara looked down at the bag suspiciously. In the bag, a long white trench coat and purple gloves paired with fake black thick glasses lay there staring at him. "That is your Halloween costume, we're going as a duo," Ino smiled holding up her bag with the pink dress in it. Gaara looked between the two and tried to think of what they were. 

Ino smelled the candle and stated that it reminded her of something that she couldn't quite remember. Gaara shrugged it off and took his candle back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any guesses as to what Ino and Gaara are gonna be for Halloween? They're going as a duo.


	11. Halloween party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gaara and Ino go to the Halloween party

Gaara come in!" Ino yelled from the other room. After Gaara and Ino got done shopping they both went to Ino's home, they were going to try the clothes on. Ino went into the bathroom and told Gaara to change, they had gotten dressed in the same room but she wanted it to be a surprise. Gaara opened the bathroom door, Ino struck a pose. The dress she was wearing looked like it was confused as to what it was. It showed her under butt, but it was too long to be a shirt. It wasn't too promiscuous since she had on thick white leggings. She was wearing ballerina shoes, laced up to her ankle. Gaara looked at the mirror, now that he saw them side by side it was painfully obvious what they were. Dexter and Dee Dee from Dexter's laboratory, Gaara put his hand on his hip and looked at Ino. "Is it because I'm Short?" Gaara asked putting on a fake upset expression. Ino laughed and put her arm around Gaara, "this is an ode to our friendship," she said she said grabbing his hand.

It was the night of the Halloween party, Gaara was at Ino's house getting ready, this felt like a high school chick flick. Ino was doing her makeup at her bathroom mirror, Gaara was scrolling through Instagram. Music was playing in the background, it was what Ino called Pre-party playlists. Gaara was looking through the tour dates of his favorite band when he got a text from Lee. His hands froze for a couple of seconds, he got out of Insta and looked at the text message.

Lee: Hi Gaara this is Rock Lee, but you can call me Lee! I just wanted to know if you're going to Sasuke's Halloween Party.

Gaara: Hello Lee, yes I will be attending Sasuke's party tonight, if you are going too I will see you there.

The moment Gaara hit send he felt stupid, Attending? ATTENDING? What the fuck was he thinking speaking so formally about a house party? It isn't like the fucking Gala. Lee probably thinks he's some fucking snood now. Gaara put his phone down on the counter and flopped down next to it, his feet swinging off the ground. Ino stopped putting her eyeliner on and looked at Gaara, "Is something wrong Red?" she asked putting the cap on her mascara. Gaara groaned, he hadn't wanted to reveal his crush but Ino always knew when he was lying. "Do you know a guy named Rock Lee?" Gaara asked looking over at the clock. "Of course I do," Ino said beginning her lipstick. Gaara had hoped she didn't know him so it wouldn't be a crush on her friend. "Well um, I may or may not want to kiss his face," Gaara said fiddling with his thumbs. Ino's face lit up, "Oh my god you guys would be such a cute couple, I'm such a slut for contracting couples." Gaara smiled, that went better than expected there was no teasing or mocking. Gaara told her the story of the time Lee gave him his sweater to wear and how they exchanged numbers. Ino if Lee had texted him yet Gaara remembered why he was so upset. He groaned and showed her the texts. Ino looked at it and smiled, you guys are so cute and awkward, don't worry it will get easier." She ruffled Gaara's hair and walked out of the bathroom.

Teenagers and alcohol, the worst and best mix. Gaara had been at this party for 30 minutes and had already been offered drugs and sex. He took neither but he did accept the drink Ino handed him. Gaara had spotted Lee a couple of times, he was mostly hanging out with friends. Gaara stuck by Ino's side for the most part. Gaara was not about to put himself in the middle of a group of people he didn't know so he just stayed in the same area, getting a new drink everytime he ran out. Eventually, that caught up to him, he wasn't by any means blackout drunk. He was more sluggishly drunk, he just moved like a tired old man. His old man antics got him thinking of his childhood, a recurring snack was teddy grams. God damn Teddy Grahm's sound so good.

 

Gaara was laying on a large couch, swaying his head to the music playing on the speakers. Ahead appeared in his field of view, soon he was being hoisted up by strong arms. "Hey, Gaara are you okay?" Lee's voice rang in his head. "I want to go to the store, bring me to the store," Gaara said trying to get up off the couch. Lee held him down by his hips and called over Ino and Sasuke, they talked too quietly for Gaara to hear them then Sasuke came back with a pillow and a blanket. Lee took them and picked Gaara up over his shoulder. Gaara grabbed hold of Lee's thigh upside down, waving at Ino. Lee flopped Gaara down into his car and walked to the driver's side, starting the engine and backing out of the driveway.

 

      (COUGH COUGH LEE IS NOT DRUNK HE DID NOT DRINK DO NOT DRINK AND DRIVE) Gaara found himself nodding off in the car, when he opened his eyes he saw a giant sign "Target" Lee had brought him to a store, what a gentleman. Lee left him in the car as he went and got a cart, Gaara was confused for a second. Why do they need a cart for one thing? Everything was answered when Lee put the pillow and blanket in the cart, opening the car door and picking up Gaara. This was the only pro about being 5'2, he fit in the cart just right. Lee wheeled Gaara into the entrance, stopping in the front, "Hey Gaara what are we here to buy?" Lee asked looking down at the cart. "Teddy grams" Gaara groaned pushing his face into the blanket. Lee smiled taking Gaara over to the snack aisle. Some time during the 10 minutes it took to buy the snack Gaara fell asleep, when he woke up next he was in the car again. Lee looked over at his dazed and confused face. "I'm taking you to my house, don't worry Ino knows where you are," Lee said bringing the car to a stop. It was almost 2 am but 1 light in the house was still on, Lee grabbed Gaara up bridal style. Leaving the pillow and blanket Lee opened the front door with his pinkie. Gaara looked up and saw his first-period English teacher sitting in a chair reading. Kakashi looked up at him and waved, Lee said his hellos and took Gaara up the stairs. Well, Monday should be great fun. Lee slid Gaara down onto his bed, taking off his fake glasses for him. Lee walked over to his dresser and pulled out a shirt and pants. "This shirt is going to be big but it should be ok, these pants are going to be too big but unless you want to sleep in just a shirt these are the best I can do for you," Lee said holding out the clothes to Gaara. Gaara took them and walked to where Lee told him the bathroom was.

 

Yeah, the shirt was way too big for him, it went down to his knees. The pants were a no go, they wouldn't stay up no matter what. Lee told Gaara he could sleep in his boxers, Lee didn't seem uncomfortable in any way so here Gaara was sleeping in the same bed as Lee half naked. Surprisingly he went to sleep very easily that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well that escalated extremely quickly


	12. The morning after

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gaara wakes up in Lee's bed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah sorry, this took so long, and it seems so rushed it is really late at night and I just realized I haven't updated this week.

Gaara woke up in a mysterious room, there was an alarm clock next to his head blinking 4:30 am. Figures, even when he's shit faced drunk he still wakes up too early for his liking. Gaara scans the room, there are dumbells next to a backpack and a large textbook. A brown desk with a dark green chair sits in the corner, a laptop and a calendar sitting on top of it. In the opposite corner, there is a bookshelf with fitness books and framed pictures. Gaara looks down at the blanket he's wrapped in, it matches the dark green theme with dark leaves. 

Gaara thankfully remembers the events of last night enough to not freak out when he feels his bare legs touch the sheets. He should probably apologize for being an inconvenience. Gaara rolls over onto his other side, he sees lee sleeping with one hand above his head and the other on his stomach, he sleeps with his mouth open but no noise comes out of it. He looks at peace with his mind, no frightening dreams no problems to worry about when he wakes up. Gaara rubs his eyes and stands up, the shirt Lee gave him dropping down to his knees again. If Gaara had the option he would have found his clothes and snuck out like a one night stand. Unfortunately, the floor was clear of any clothes. Gaara grunts and pushes himself up, looking at the desk or shelf for any sign of his clothes. None. Getting up, Gaara decides to at least find his phone to text Ino. Gaara searches the surface level of the room, his phone isn't on any of them. Maybe Lee took it out of his pocket last night when they were walking in, Gaara opened the door to the upstairs hallway. The outline of a stair railing was seen and Gaara braced himself for what was about to come. 

Gaara held onto the railing in the dark as he tiptoed down the stairs not wanting to wake the family. As soon as his feet hit tile he flattened his foot, and let the rail go. He walked over to the front door and looked at the hallway table by it, no phone there just gum in a bowl. Gaara walked over to the kitchen, the washing machine and dryer sitting in the closet-sized room just off the side. Gaara took a look in the laundry room, where his phone lay on top of the dryer all sad and decrepit. Gaara walked over to it and looked at the clothes sitting in the basket on the ground. Success, his clothes were sitting under Lee's costume. Gaara huddled all of his clothes up into his arms and walked back tot he bathroom to get dressed. 

When Gaara walked out he noticed Lee had his door open, walking back down the stairs Gaara heard his gym teacher booming with laughter. Damn forgot about that. Gaara slugged down the stairs and looked into the kitchen, Lee, Gai, and Kakashi were all sitting at the table together. Lee must have heard him come down because he looked over at him and motioned for him to come over. Gai saw Lee looking at something so he looked over too. "Oh hello there, I see you found your clothes. They smelt like alcohol so I washed them for you," Gai said giving a thumbs up. Gaara said his thanks and apologized to Lee for making him carry him. Lee insisted that it so no big deal and to not apologize. 

After an agonizing 20 minutes Gaara finally said it was time for him to make his leave, Lee offered to walk him home since he was going out for a jog anyway. What was Gaara going to day to that? No?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always thank you for reading


	13. Utopia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lee walks Gaara home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this wasn't supposed to come out so fluffy
> 
> Also yes the song I mention in this is Euphoria by Jungkook.

Gaara stepped into the sunlight for the first time since yesterday, oh yup there's the hangover. Gaara shaded his eyes from the suns rays and waited for Lee to get his jacket on. Lee had on a cloth jumpsuit, it was the same 'fuck you' green color as the other jumpsuits but it was heavier than the other wafer-thin ones.

Eventually, Gaara finds himself behind Lee, taking steps that strain his leg muscles. Gaara wasn't used to going this fast even when he ran, his walking stance had been compared to a penguin because his steps are so abbreviated. The pounding headache he had was not going away in these conditions, it might even worsen if Lee keeps this pace up.

Lee must have noticed Gaara lagging behind him because he suddenly started walking at a normal pace. Gaara took the chance and speed up in one final burst of energy, meeting Lee in his spot on the sidewalk. Lee looked down at Gaara and smiled his stupid, wide, bright, sunny, lovable smile. Gaara just huffed and put his hand in his coat pocket.

Suddenly Lee stopped and turned, Gaara turned with him. It took way too long for Gaara to realize the building in front of him is his apartment building. Just as Gaara was about to ask Lee how he knew his address he remembered the time Lee delivered Temari's flowers. Gaara didn't really know what to do, this was a new situation for him. "U-um do you want some water? It's pretty hot outside." Gaara asked looking at the window of his apartment. "That would be lovely, thank you," Lee answered hesitantly putting his hand in Gaara's hair.

Gaara opened the door to the apartment, luckily Temari and Kankuro were at work until the evening. Lee sat down on the couch, looking around at the walls and decoration. Probably trying to take in all of the weird abstract artsy pictures. Temari wasn't Gaara's mom, so naturally, there were no family pictures on the walls. What do you put on a living room wall if not family portraits? Well, Temari was obsessed with buying paintings and drawings from underground artists online. so the entire apartment had half-naked ladies smoking cigarettes and drinking whiskey strewed across it. Just by looking at Lee you could tell that wasn't really his thing, he didn't look grossed out though. Gaara got Lee a cup of ice water and turned on the radio in the living room. A nice quiet tune hummed through the air, making everything seem normal.

They ended up talking about their music tastes, turns out Lee really likes EDM, Gaara was a bit of a mutt when it comes to music. He can find himself liking any kind of music depending on his mood. Or considering how much alcohol he's had. Lee told Gaara some stories about his dads that had been passed down to him. They could have been talking for millennia and they wouldn't have noticed.

The track in the radio switched, a soft rising tune played. A soft voice sang sweetly, Gaara recognized the song.

Uphoria

'Take my hands now, you are the cause on my euphoria'

Gaara looked down at his hands

'When I'm with you I'm in utopia'

  
Lee is Gaara's utopia.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks as always


	14. Group Chat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ino puts Gaara into a chat with the Konoha 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so the social media that they're testing on is supposed to be snap chat just in case you were wondering, that might be important in the future 
> 
> Enjoy

Gaara is sitting on his bed playing with Shukau when his phone vibrates on his nightstand. Ino had texted him.  
Ino: Hey little red I'm gonna put you in a group chat with my friends please don't be mad k thanks bye.  
Just as Gaara predicted he was thrown into a group with people he was only acquainted with. He recognized most names, some standing out more than others. Naruto and Sasuke were there along with Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji also the guy from the shelter, Kiba. Some names had been mentioned in conversation but Gaara had never met them before. Sakura, Hinata, Neji, and Shino. Lee was there at the end of the names, his name ended with a dumbbell emoji. Cringy yet endearing. As soon as the group was made it started to blow up, Naruto being mad at Sasuke, Neji, and Naruto arguing about who would win in a fight. Ino typed into the chat in all caps 

Ino: SHUT UP I HAVE IMPORTANT NEWS.

the chat went silent 

Ino: This is Gaara he will be joining the squad from this day on.

Ino sent out an absolutely awful picture of Gaara passed out on a swing set.  
The chat was on fire again, some commenting that Gaara had weed in his hand, the others commenting on his hair. One annoying one talking about how his feet don't touch the ground. The vibes that the chat gave off was, to say the least. All in all, everybody seemed to get along quite well, except for Naruto and Sasuke of Obviously. They all Introduced themselves and sent a selfie for Gaara to match a face to the name. Sakura had pink hair, Neji had long brown hair up in a bun, Hinata looked like she was a personified angel with white skin and very pale eyes. Shino wore sunglasses and a coat that covered his mouth. 

Naruto: How do you think people reacted when the first set of twins was born?

The chat went right back to how it was originally, good chaos. Gaara had never had more than one friend so this was completely new to him. So many people talking about one topic comfortably. Some thought rationally about the questions, some were off the wall crackhead answers. This was a neatly picked patch of crackheads, to say the least. They were all talking about Milfs and dilfs within 20 seconds of the topic being brought up. Gaara smiled to himself, he had an actual friend group for the first time in his life. 

Eventually, when the chat died down a bit Sasuke texted

Sasuke: Hey since we have a new addition we should all have a sleepover this Friday so that he can see if he wants to be friends with you troglodytes. 

A string of positive comments flooded into the chat  
Ino: hell yeah I need to get high again  
Naruto: Sure we can break him into our group for real  
Kiba: Well that will be a bit awkward since I'm fucking his brother but sure why not

...Time to put that one in the blocked memory box, but it looks like they're having a sleepover Friday to as Shikamaru put it. 'Pop his cherry in the most heterosexual way possible'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!
> 
>  
> 
> ...cough cough I'm an insufferable attention whore so if you want to see my naruto headcanons I also have a twitter @gaaras_hole


	15. Amazing fanart

<https://twitter.com/lamonge2/status/1048894802157346816?s=21>

 

go check out this amazing fanart by la-monge on twitter! It’s based off of the ending of chapter 6 of cherry cola. I honestly never thought this fanfiction would have a drawing to go with it (because I can’t draw for shit) but here we are                   Go follow her on twitter @laMonge2 and on ao3: La_Monge   Go give this girl some love she’s an amazing artist 

 


	16. Chapter 16

Gaara stood in front of the mirror, looking at himself with great concentration. Giving himself a mental pep talk, shit like this doesn't come easily to him. The Sleepover was in approximately 8 hours, that gave him very little time between when school ends and the sleepover begins. Gaara stopped to wonder if he was the only one who ever thought about this so into detail because Sasuke just threw the idea out there for a sleepover. They all seemed to be such close friends already, Gaara had a hard time seeing where he’d fit in. Gaara got dressed in black jeans and a windbreaker, the perfect combo. He walked into the elevator and pressed the bottom to take him to the lobby. When he got to the street he noticed that it was kind of gloomy. Not so much in the rain sense but in the cold windy day sense, The windbreaker Gaara was wearing was the one he got in Suna, so it was thin enough for a breeze but thick enough to keep the sandstorms from getting in your clothes. So naturally, it was cold and uncomfortable for Gaara to walk to school. Once Gaara got to school he Immediately went to first period seeing as he was already 20 minutes late, it was probably just reading so it wasn't that big of a deal. The teacher might not even be there yet. Gaara meandered towards the door and walked in completely disrespectful to the students who actually liked ready because of how loud the door shut. Nobody even looked up at him though, they were all either reading or whispering. This day is going to be long.

Update, he was right it was long but it ended already 

Group chat  
Naruto: School: done  
Sleepover: in action  
Hotel: trivago  
Sasuke: shut up loser  
Naruto: come one it was funny

 

As the entire chat told naruto how horrible his joke was Gaara was overthinking the whole night. What if they don't like him, what if they think he's weird? What if they think he looks like a gremlin? While overthinking Gaara failed to hear his door open until Ino’s arms wrapped around his body and lifted him up ”Hey there little red, ” she said putting him back down. Gaara had gotten used to the nickname by this point, she was probably here to take him to Sasuke’s house. 

When they arrived there were about 3 cars parked alongside the road, probably the other people. Gaara felt his hands get ice cold, and he started to sweat. All of his anxiety coming back to him, what if he messes it up with these people who want to be his friend? Gaara and Ino step closer to the door, Ino doesn't even bother knocking and just walks right in screaming ”the party don't start till I walk in.” All of the faces in the living room look up, going from him to her, Gaara wants to run. But before he can they all start to comment on something that's going on, they talk about how ”cute Gaara is” to that Sakura pinches his cheek. They comment on his hair and how well it goes with his eyes. They talk about how short he is in real life. All is well, the waves have settled. Gaara sits in between Lee and Ino listening to everybody talk. This is exactly like if he made the group chat a person. 

Everything seemed to be going fine until they decided that they were bored and wanted to go to an amusement park to see the Christmas decorations. Gaara tried to argue that it was too late at night but everybody else want to go so they dragged him along too. Gaara is mentally freaking out


	17. Squad bonding? Squanding?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When in doubt, go to Walmart and make arts and crafts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah i was gonna do a self indulgent amusement park chapter but i decided to put it off for a later date

The amusement park was shut down because of the rain, predictable but now it was 10:00 pm and they had nothing to do. They would probably go home and play on their phones until they all fell asleep and had an awkward goodbye in the morning. That's how Gaara’s first and only sleepover went, it was in the 6th grade though. Sasuke snapped his fingers and took off for the car. They all followed close behind, ”I have an idea, ” Sasuke said ducking into the car. They all crumpled into the car, shoulder to shoulder. Sasuke took off down the highway blaring his bass boosted rock music. He took a sharp turn into a Walmart parking lot, forcing them into each other. He parked (badly) and got out. Lee walked over to the cart stall and grabbed one, wiping the rain droplets off if it. They walked into the chain store and followed Sasuke, he walked over to the candles grabbing about 5 different festive scented ones. Cinnamon, apple cider, gingerbread, candy cane, and pine. The pine kind of smells like Lee. He placed them into the cart and continued walking. Stopping at the arts and craft section, he grabbed about 4 stacks of white construction paper each had about 100 pieces of paper. He grabbed about 7 pairs of scissors and 10 rolls of tape. He walked over to the decoration and each member of the group grabbed an ornament, 13 ornaments. Sasuke walked away for a minute then came back with a small tree, it was about 5’1 and it was in a box. He finally nodded and walked them to the checkout line. Sasuke was stubborn and didn't let anyone help him pay for the items, he didn't even let them see how much it was. They all walked back to the car and unloaded the items, the tree just barely fit in the trunk.

They all sat in a large circle cutting out snowflakes, some were lopsided some had lipstick on them from Ino. They were all really unique. Sasuke wasn't helping make the snowflakes, he was on a ladder hanging them from the ceiling. After a while they're arms got tired of making snowflakes, so they shredded the paper they still had left and made fake snow. Now the tree, Lee brought to tree in and they all put it together (it was fake). Gaara looked at the tree in awe, he had never had a Christmas tree, the desert didn't have any. Each person put their ornament on, Sasuke put an old star on top. Soon they had a living room that looked like a winter wonderland. Gaara sat back and wondered if it would snow this year, he had never seen snow. 

By the time they finished, it was 1 am, Gaara expected them to want to go to bed but they were off the walls. Most had coffee some had cigarettes, one annoying blond had a vape. It was a cool and comfortable environment to be in, they were all silent for a while. Ino smiled and walked over to Sasuke’s fridge grabbing one of the beers out of it. She chugged it with everyone cheering her on. When the bottle was empty she called them all into a circle on the floor, placing the bottle in the middle. ”Truth or drink anyone?” She said smirking. Sasuke sighed and grabbed a key from a drawer, unlocking the liquor cabinet. He grabbed a plethora of alcohols and placed them on the side with shot glasses next to them. And on the game began, some people looked cool and calm some looked worried and frantic. 

Ino went first since she wanted to play the game, she landed on Kiba. ”Have you ever had sex on your motorcycle?” she asked slyly. Oh, so the motorcycle outside is his. Kiba didn't even look ashamed when he answered: ”Yeah, recently too.” Gaara grimaced his mind automatically thinking of his brother. Kiba spun the bottle and it landed on Sakura, ”so when did you stop falling head over heels for Sasuke?” everybody made a noise similar to ”oooooh”. She looked shocked for a second then frowned ”around 9th grade” she answered pouring herself a shot even though she answered the question. Sakura spun it and it landed on Lee ”Lee, are you interested in anybody right now?” she asked drinking some of her water she had next to her. Lee didn't even have to think about it, his hand went straight to the vodka. The game went on like that. Questions progressively getting more personal, when tenten landed on Gaara she thought for a moment. She opened her mouth hesitantly ”if you don't mind me asking why did you come to Konoha?” she said putting her hand on her chin. Gaara thought about lying, but there really wasn't a point to it. ”My father fell ill and died so I moved here, ” Gaara said nonchalantly. Ino gave him a side hug and told him to spin it. The rest of the game went smoothly. Gaara found out that Shikamaru had a thing for his sister, he decided not to tell him that the ”girl with the blonde pigtails and the nice ass” was his sister. Kiba asked how shukaku was and Gaara told him stories of how Shukakau beat up kankuro. 

Gaara was beyond happy with this outcome so far, Lee was a bit tipsy which was fun as hell. This is the friend group he had always wanted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always thank you for reading


	18. Opposite of amusement

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The squad goes to an amusement park and Gaara doesn't have fun

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Purely self-indulgent

The sun came through the dark curtains of Sasuke’s window, at some point they had all migrated to his room. There were teenagers all over his room, on his bed, on the floor. Some had fallen asleep around 6 others were still awake. It was 8 now, usually, they would be asleep, now they were all sitting and chatting about an activity they should do. Hinata suggested a cafe, which everybody agreed on. Well mostly everybody, Kiba bitched about it for a while but eventually got over it. So they all got dressed and loaded up into two cars. There was a new cafe in town that Hinata wanted to try, so Sasuke sent the location to Kiba who was driving Shino’s car. It only took about 7 minutes to get to the cafe, it should take 10 but Sasuke speeds naturally. The inside of the cafe is weirdly modern, black sleek counters, white display lights, and stringy fairy lights going across the ceiling. The tables were black and white, the booths were rimmed with gold colored lining. It was busy with other teenagers scattered across the floor, chatting and drinking coffee. Everybody told Sasuke what they wanted, Gaara went with black coffee, he absolutely hates black coffee but he doesn't know how to ask for it to have so much sugar and creamer that it doesn't even taste like coffee so he decides he’ll do it himself.

They all sat in 2 booths up against each other, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura on one side of the first bench with Gaara, Lee, and Ino on the other side. The second booth held Kiba, Hinata, Shino, Shikamaru, choji, and Tenten with Neji squished in between Choji and Tenten. Naruto was turned around in his seat talking to Kiba, and Sasuke is pulling on his shirt to get him to stop muttering something about this not being appropriate. Gaara was looking down at the table fiddling with his hands, it had become a bad habit since he was young he never enjoyed looking people in the eyes so he played with his hands. He had also noticed this was a tick he had when he was lying, so he had made a mental note to watch out for it to not be caught in a lie. 

Their coffee and muffins came on a little tray of goodies. Sasuke passed out all of the items, setting the black coffee in front of Gaara. Taking the black coffee into his hands Gaara took a sip and almost gagged, Lee looked over with a muffin in his mouth, he was obviously confused as to why Gaara was making a barfing noise at the coffee he had ordered. Gaara over to the packets of sugar on the table, he grabbed them all, opened them all at once. Then began to pour them into his coffee, he could hear Lee trying not to laugh at how concentrated Gaara was about this task. That didn't really matter now though, Gaara grabbed the cream and poured it into the coffee, mixing it around until the brew had turned Carmel colored. He sighed putting his spoon down and sipping at the coffee, tasted good enough. He drank it like water, watching all of the others turning to look at him with widened eyes. When he set the cup down he gave a half-hearted smile and waved a bit, Naruto’s mouth was open and his coffee had been discarded to the side of the table. 

After everybody finished eating Sasuke loaded them up into the two cars. They were most likely going home. Well, at least that's what Gaara thought until Sasuke turned left when he should have gone right. Well shit. They drove into a large city with towering buildings, this is still Konoha just a newer part. Eventually, they were met with a long line of cars, Gaara’s first thought was traffic. As they slowly started going faster he realized that was the line into Konoha’s Theme park, he also realized he was going to die today. 

Saying his last goodbyes in his head Gaara got out of the car with all of his friends. Sakura was clinging to Ino asking if she wanted to go on the power drop with her. The name power drop made Gaara want to curl up and die, but the fact that he now had to face it was even scarier. When Gaara was little his uncle took him to a theme park once, it wasn't even a big theme park it was a theme park designed for kids his age. He took him on a small rollercoaster, after that day he decided to never take him to an amusement park ever again. Of course, Gaara had been to more theme parks with his sister and brother. He was the bag holder while they went on rides, the rides he refused to go on. He didn't mind the spinning teacups though, those were quite fun. Roller coasters and things that went fast made his stomach drop though. Beside him, Lee was bouncing up and down talking about how cool all of the rides are. 

They walked through the metal detectors and gave the people their tickets they had bought. When they all stepped into the park the first thing in front of them was the best ride known to man, the teacups. Gaara thanked whoever made this layout and walked over to it with all of his new friends. They split into 6 and 7, Gaara was with Naruto, Hinata, Sasuke, Lee, and Kiba. They sat in the purple teacup and listened to the warning to keep all hands in the ride and to remain seated at all times. All of the times Gaara had been on the teacups he had been with his family who knew about his fear of rides. He forgot that this new group didn't and that he was with two of the rowdiest boys in town. As soon as the ride started Kiba and Naruto began to spin the wheel in the middle of the teacups, making the cup spin faster as the ride began to move them around the platform. Gaara was trying his best to hold onto the seat but since the ride had no belts he was sliding into Lee and Hinata. Hinata was holding onto Naruto trying to get him to calm down but he wasn't listening so she just held onto him. Lee was having the time of his life, laughing and letting the ride rock him. Gaara was gripping the seat so right his knuckles turned white, Kiba was slipping and sliding but still holding onto the wheel. After the ride had stopped all of their hair was flipped and messy, they toppled out of the cup and found their other friends. Immediately Lee shouted out about the pirate ship being nearby, everyone agreed and got in line for the giant ship. Gaara had never been on one of these but he had a pretty good idea as to when it does. He slid into the bench and had the safety bar lowered and fastened onto him. His hands dropped at the bar before the ride had even started. Lee clapped his hands and kicked his feet, talking about how this was his favorite ride as a kid. Gaara would have usually listened but he was too busy about to barf. When the ride started Gaara crouched into himself grinding his feet into the bottom of the ride, his fingernails making marks in the bar. Lee looked over to him and nudged his shoulder, putting his hands up and smiling. Gaara slowly lifted his hand up from the bar and was about to put it up until the boat began to move forward. Gaara gasped and put his hand onto the safety bar, for a second he thought it was fine until he felt the boat go backward putting him in the air. He closed his eyes and put his head on the bar, hopefully, this is as high as it goes. Jinxed it. The boat kept getting higher and higher than going down and lifting up again. Gaara tried to keep back any noise he would have made, just kept looking down and biting his thumb. The ride wasn't too long, only about two minutes of hell. When they got off Sakura started to talk about the rides she wanted to go on, but then Kiba talked about the rides he wanted to go on. Eventually, they all decided on one ride, the gut grinder. Why must they torture innocent bystanders like this? In line for the gut grinder was basically in line for death row, Naruto was talking to Sasuke about how much Sasuke was gonna scream, Sasuke was denying it. Eventually, they all got to the front. There were four people per cart, two on one side two on the other. The two sides were facing each other making a square of seats. Ino, Naruto, Lee, and Gaara were in the first one, as soon as the harness came over Gaara's shoulders he was fucked. Naruto was kicking his own seat, Ino was checking her nails and Lee was being Lee. Gaara, however, was sweating profusely, having never been on an actual rollercoaster he didn't know what to expect. So he expected the worst, and he was right. The cart slowly climbed up a hill, turning them in the process. Gaara bit his lip to keep in the noise and waited, but he apparently didn't bite hard enough because when the cart dropped his mouth opened on its own and let out a shout of surprise. His hands clutched the metal bars and his eyes screwed shut. Closing his eyes was a big mistake, he didn't know there was another drop. This time when they went down Gaara actually screamed, which didn't sound too manly but that wasn't his main concern. Ino was laughing and whooping Naruto was just plain laughing. Lee had put his hand on Gaara’s leg to try to calm him down. The ride was moving and jerking everywhere, turning and dropping lightly. They were going faster than Gaara had ever moved, he decided to open his eyes to see if there are anymore surprise drops. Wrong timing though, he could see that they were approaching a loop faster than he could comprehend. As they were upside down he kicked his legs and screamed again, this time through a few stray tears slipped out. Of course, a few tears is never gonna stop there so when they hit the second loop he was full on sobbing. One of his hands had left the metal holders and had grabbed onto Lee’s hand unconsciously. Lee was laughing and bringing Gaara's hand up with his, no matter how much Gaara protested against putting his hand up it always went. By the time the ride ended Gaara had tear marks on his face and a red nose, his hair was plastered to his cheeks because of how wet they were. He shakily got off of the ride and stood on the nonmoving ground. The entire group was having the time of their lives poking at Gaara, Lee only chuckled a little and rubbed under Gaara’s eyes wiping away the tear residue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading


	19. Sigh

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Short little chapter because I've been gone for so long

Gaara refused to go on most rides after the traumatic event that had just taken place, he was again the one at the bottom of the ride waiting. Sometimes he got lonely and felt left out because everyone was up there having fun but rides just weren't fun to him. It suddenly rolled around to 9:00 pm, the sun started to set and the light began to fade. Until a surge of electricity could be felt through the air and lights began to flick on. This is what they were here for, Christmas lights and parades and a giant tree. They all gathered around the giant Christmas tree and stared in awe at its size and girth. Lee pulled out his phone and they all took selfies in front of it. Lee had Gaara specifically stand next to the tree because he was the shortest member of their group. He was offended at first until he realized he was going to be in Lee’s phone by himself. Lee was obviously interested enough in him to want a picture with only him in it. Score. By the end of the night, they had all taken pictures and posted them online. Ino sent Gaara pictures of him and Lee standing under the tree together. She also sent him a random picture he didn't know she had of him after the teacups looking messed up. They all left to go back to Sasuke’s house for one more night of drinking and laughing.


	20. Cleaning cleaning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sunday cleaning day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short little chapter

Sunday morning, cleaning day in the Sabaku No household. The apartment was much smaller than their old house, so it wasn't as big of a deal as it used to be. Cleaning on Sunday had always been a constant in Gaara’s life, his sister said that their mom had always cleaned the house on Sundays to have a fresh house for a fresh week. They all had to clean their own rooms and then one extra room, they alternate every week. This week Gaara had to clean the kitchen, tamari had to clean the bathroom and kankuro had to clean the living room. Gaara donned his cleaning clothes, and put a bandana around his forehead. Cleaning clothes are just really old rolled up sweatpants and an old slipknot shirt, not the most attractive but that's kind of the point. 

Gaara got busy sweeping the kitchen floor, he had never been great at sweeping because he could never get all of the dust in the pan but he tried his best. After taking a couple of minutes too long on the floor he grabbed the paper towels and started to rub the leftover grease from their food the night before. The countertops were matte black so the shiny grease was kind of obvious. Gaara was working on removing a particularly stubborn stain when he heard a knock at the door. He threw the paper towel away and got ready to tell of a spokesman for some kind of product he doesn't need. When he opened the door he was met with a face full of flowers, the person behind the large bustle of flowers was Lee. ”Oh! Gaara hello there, um your sister ordered these from Ino’s flower shop and I came to deliver them.” Lee said smiling. Gaara felt his face light up as he thought about the situation, Lee was holding out flowers to him. Gaara took the flowers and set them on the kitchen table. ”Well, see you tomorrow Gaara!” Lee said reaching up and fiddling with Gaara’s bandana whispering a ’cute’ and running off. Gaara closed the door and went to find a vase.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading


	21. The end?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lee maybe maybe not asks Gaara out just a tad

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright look I am the most indecisive bitch that you'll ever meet, but I wasn't aware of that until I devoted my time to a 20 chapter fanfiction that I'm gonna be completely honest with you chief I didn't plan most of this shit out alright? I had a plan and as soon as I got the ball rolling the plan was thrown away. So it got a bit fucky in the process of me rolling. I was laying in bed at 4 am and I was like 'I wanna write a fic so I did and now we're all confused. So.....I'm now brainstorming ideas for another shorter fanfiction. but I don't have the ability to do two at a time, so this is where cherry cola ends and a new better era of writing begins. stick with me and I'll provide the content to pay the bills.

It's been a whole year since Gaara moved to Konoha, and he doesn't ever want to look back. Life has been nothing but good since he got to this small town, he made friends for the first time. He watched Naruto as Sasuke to the prom, they're in a cute relationship now. Gaara has made it through high school, he graduates in one week. Things couldn't be better, probably. Gaara is now headed out to buy some snacks for a sleepover at Sasuke's house, this is the last time they're hanging out as high schoolers. Walking down the main street with a bag of food in his left hand Gaara sees Lee running up to him smiling. Lee is holding something in his hands but he's too far away to really see the clear picture. As Lee gets closer Gaara can see he has a beautiful cactus cupped in his hands. Lee stops 10 feet in front of Gaara and takes a knee holding the cactus out in front of him lowering his head. "Gaara, would you like to go out with me?" Lee says in a high pitched shaky voice. Gaara feels his skin jump, is this really happening right now? Gaara sets the bag down and takes the cactus into his hands observing it. " Rock Lee of Konoha, I would love to go out with you," Gaara says pausing to wait for Lee's response. Lee lifts his head slowly, as a smile breaks out on his lips. Gaara opens his arms as lee jumps onto him hugging his body, lifting him up off the ground. 

 

epilogue 6 years later

Gaara sits in his garden looking at the clouds, thinking back to the first day he went to Konoha. His emotions and his actions. Then he starts to think about the present day, all of his friends and family. Everything stayed the same but changed at the same time. Ino was still sassy Ino but now she had a two-year-old kid, sadly she was a single mom but she didn't let that stop her. Temari had really hit it off with Shikamaru, they started dating a year before Gaara and Lee, they now had a 3-year-old who looked exactly like them. Naruto and Sasuke got married a year after graduation, they both gave their sperm to women and now had two kids on the way, with due dates 4 days apart. As for Lee and Gaara, they had gotten married after dating for three years, they had adopted a boy named shinki from an abusive household and had gotten women to agree to carry their second baby named Metal (Lee's name not Gaara's). Gaara had bought a small store and turned it into a booming cactus shop. And nothing could be better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I'm gonna start posting better stories very soon. Some will be based on my real life experiences some will be pure self-indulgent headcanons.

**Author's Note:**

> whoops


End file.
